Meanwhile, in the car park of the restaurant where the Widjaya Family held their dinner.
Inside a flashy sports car, Tom was sitting in the driving seat. The man lowered his window halfway so that he could smoke more freely. But the night wind was blowing hard, sending the cigarette smoke back into the car.
The smoke reached Sasha, who was sitting in the passenger seat. The woman immediately covered her nose with one hand, coughing. She frowned and protested, "Can you stop smoking just for once?"
Sasha didn't choose to be here. She did come to this restaurant with Tom, but after what had happened between them, Sasha didn't want to see that man's face again. Unfortunately, the Hiroshi Family's car had already left before Sasha was leaving. Plus, the restaurant was quite far from the main road. So she had no choice but to go home with Tom.
The woman waved her hand with an exasperated expression, trying to dispel the cigarette smoke. Sasha basically didn't like the smell of cigarettes, so being in the same car as a heavy smoker made her even more annoyed.
Tom was staring out of the car with an arm resting on the open window. When he heard Sasha's scolding, he took a deep smoke. Then he turned to the woman and blew the smoke right on her face. Tom had to admit that his action was a little childish. But he felt satisfied when he saw Sasha's face contorted in disgust.
"When Jean smokes in front of you, why don't you ever say the same to him?" Tom asked her. "What is the difference between my cigarette and Jean's cigarette?"
Sasha glared at the man. She was annoyed that Tom's accusations were right on the spot. "What do you want?!" she demanded in a muffled voice. "Did you take the wrong medicine today?!"
Tom got even more annoyed when Sasha scolded him. "Yeah right, I took the wrong medicine today!" he said, irritated. "That's why I'm sitting here and accompanying you, even though you never had any special feelings for me!"
The man held the cigarette and squeezed the butt firmly. Tom didn't even care if his hand got burned by the tip of the cigarette. The man just stared at Sasha coldly.
"Sasha, have you seen your own reflection in the mirror? You are not like the woman I know! The Sasha I know won't be this low! She is always consistent and careful!" Tom was clearly aggravated. "But look at what you did now!"
Tom pointed his cigarette butt at Sasha's face with great feeling.
"You're trying to slander Lilia in front of everyone! Do you think she won't be able to defend herself against you? She has the support of the Widjaya Family! You are really stupid if you can't guess that!" Tom scolded.
This was the first time Tom had confronted Sasha so bluntly. Tom's words felt as sharp as knives, tearing apart Sasha's pretense. Finally, the woman stopped pretending to be in front of Tom. Jealousy was really a scary thing!
Sasha looked away and took a deep breath. She opened her mouth after a while. "…I don't know what you're talking about. The incident between Sara Hartanto and Lilia Pangestu has nothing to do with me." Sasha insisted.
Tom slammed his hand against the steering wheel, accidentally honking his car horn. However, he was more focused on glaring at Sasha than worrying about anything else.
"Why are you still lying in front of my face?! How could that incident have nothing to do with you!" Tom angrily snapped. "You think I didn't see you when you whispered to Sara? I may not know what you are telling her so she was acting like a fool! But you can't lie to me about this!"
Tom clenched his fists so tightly that his cigarette butt shattered into pieces. The skin that touched the hot stump now left a burn mark. But Tom could barely feel the pain in his hand.
Hearing that, Sasha immediately turned to Tom with wide eyes. Only then did she realize the burns and ashes that had stained the man's hand. Sasha sighed and started taking out tissues from her bag. "Give me your hand," she ordered.
Seeing Tom didn't move, Sasha took the man's hand. She began to clean the ashes off with great care and tenderness. Sasha half thought that Tom would take his hand back, but the man said nothing. This attitude showed that Tom still had feelings for Sasha.
The woman sighed and put on a sad face. "Tom, I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt Lilia. I did talk to Sara, but I only conveyed my complaints about Lilia. I didn't tell her to do anything — you have to trust me!" Sasha defended herself.
Tom bit his lip with a conflicted expression. He didn't fully trust Sasha yet, but there was a part of him that wanted to trust her. Which man didn't want to trust the woman he loved?
Sasha continued her words. "Maybe Sara sympathized with what I told her, so she targeted Lilia like that. Tom, you also know that Lilia's ex-boyfriend is Sara's boyfriend now. Even if I don't say anything about Lilia, how can Sara just keep quiet?"
"That ..." Tom murmured. He couldn't deny that Sasha had a point either. Though Sasha didn't encourage Sara to find trouble with Lilia, the Hartanto Family's third grandchild would still do it!
"I know you're mad at me, but what can I do?" Sasha looked at Tom with a pained expression. "I've liked that guy for years. I can't just give up! I…"
Sasha lowered her head and started sobbing. Her tearful acting seemed very convincing to Tom's eyes.
"Sasha ..." Tom bit his lip. What Sasha said was the same as how the man felt right now. He had loved this woman in front of him a long time ago. How could he just let her go?!
The man replied by gripping Sasha's hand tightly. "Sasha, listen to me carefully, okay?" he urged. "Don't be stubborn. You won't be able to get to Jean, so… "
'So, choose me.'
Tom hated himself for not having the courage to say that. But fortunately, Sasha immediately caught the man's point.
"I know ..." Sasha nodded. "I also don't want to be constantly controlled by my feelings." The woman lied with a serious expression. "But if I don't do anything, I'll be forced to marry someone I don't even know. What if he's not a really nice guy? What if he bullies me or cheats on me? I can't stop thinking about that..."
Sasha's body was shaking violently and her face was pale when she said that.
"Tom…" Sasha gave him a pleading look. "I'm afraid to imagine a future like that ... what should I do?"
Hearing that, Tom was silent for a long time. The man desperately racked his brains, trying to find a way out for the woman he loved. Not long after that, Tom finally found a solution. The man's gaze fell on Sasha's red lips.
Tom reached out hesitantly and cupped Sasha's face. He leaned over before lightly kissing her lips. Tom pulled back and waited with anticipation for Sasha to slap him again. But this time Sasha let Tom kiss her.
The man smiled triumphantly and returned to kiss Sasha. Tom closed his eyes, enjoying the joy that the woman he loved no longer resisted his touch. He missed noticing the hateful look that crossed Sasha's eyes.
After a long kiss, Tom gave Sasha a big hug. "I won't let you marry another man," he whispered, his voice was full of determination.
Sasha smiled and nodded. Tom might be serious about her, but for her, he was just one amongst many in her complicated love story.. Sasha had no intention of forgetting Jean soon.
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